Emery Introduced: ‘Our Goal Is To Win Championships’

(CBS) Phil Emery was officially introduced as the Bears new general manager Monday at Halas Hall and immediately struck a cord with one ultimate goal.

“Bottom line, regardless of where they come from, our goal is to win championships,” he said.

Despite concerns regarding the Bears scouting department and lack of impactful draft classes recently, Emery said his first priority is free agency, mainly because of the NFL calendar.

“As we move through free agency we will move to the combine and toward the college draft. We will focus on the draft after the free-agency plan,” he said.

Emery went on to say he wants to build the team through the draft, however, saying, “We want to raise our own.”

He added that he plans on adding to the scouting staff, but does not plan a large overhaul.

“This is one fine scouting staff and what we’re going to do moving forward is to add to it,” Emery said.

Ultimately, Emery said he wants to bring in a “Patriot” scouting system, but added that he would tweak it. He said his grading scale is different from Jerry Angelo, but hinted he’ll keep some things the same for this first draft before changing it completely.

He also said he wants to stay on the road and continue scouting four teams a week.

As for working with head coach Lovie Smith, Emery said he has “full control” over the 53-man roster, but he looks forward to working with Smith.

“I have full control, yes. But again, that’s not where my head’s at. My head is in working with Coach Smith towards developing consistency and championships.”